Galatians-Week 3-How many sons does Father Abraham have?

To finish up Chapter 3, Paul writes:
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

16. So we're all "heirs according to the promise." What's the promise?

Thanks to Jesus, we're all heirs, God's chosen people through Abraham. John 1: 12 says: Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

We believers have been clothed with Christ. Whatever is in Christ belongs to you and to me if we believe: the love of the Father, access to the Father, the full resources of the Father.

And even more importantly...there is no distinction in our new family. Superficial and temporary differences have no place in our body.

How does the law lead us to Christ?
External conformity to the law is easy. What about internal conformity?

One last comment on the law...here's what Jesus said about it (the Message version):
Matthew 5:17-20

"Don't suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures— either God's Law or the Prophets. I'm not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God's Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God's Law will be alive and working.

"Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won't know the first thing about entering the kingdom.

Christian the Lion

I'm sure you've seen this because I'm always the last to know, but I needed a hankie to watch it. And then I researched to see if the story is true. And it is, and that just breaks my heart. For some reason, if this was a story about people who found each other again, I'd just think, "Oh, that's nice." But add an animal to it and I could just sob. And then there's the cheesy and yet heartfelt music and sentiment. I just cry. To find out more, you can search "Christian the Lion" and go to the Wiki page or the Snopes.com page to find out more. And then I launched into "Deep Thoughts" about pets like Christian the Lion and Darcy the Dog. I still don't know what I think.

Beth Moore's study listed this verse in her discussion of song. In the video,she mentions C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein, asking the question "What if they were on to something?" It looks like, at the very least,all of creation will worship Christ at His return.

Revelation 5:13 (New International Version)
13Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!"

From the Message:
I looked again. I heard a company of Angels around the Throne, the Animals, and the Elders—ten thousand times ten thousand their number, thousand after thousand after thousand in full song:

The slain Lamb is worthy!
Take the power, the wealth, the wisdom, the strength!
Take the honor, the glory, the blessing!
Then I heard every creature in Heaven and earth, in underworld and sea, join in, all voices in all places, singing:

To the One on the Throne! To the Lamb!
The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength,
For age after age after age.
The Four Animals called out, "Oh, Yes!" The Elders fell to their knees and worshiped

WARNING! Added a music player!

So I added a music player. Turn down your volume if you're at work. Not that you'd read blogs at work. Right? To make it stop, hit the pause button in the corner.

Or complain to the blogger (me) and I'll change the setting. It's too much for me today.

Galatians-Week 3-Then, what's law got to do with it?

Here's a confession: I break the law sometimes, usually on the way to work. And on the way home. I drive faster than the posted speed limits, even though I understand in my head that driving laws are in place for my safety and others. I also rip tags off of pillows and walk my dog in the park that says "No dogs allowed." I'm a rebel.
What about you? Have any similar challenges under the law?

16. If the law can't save us, why did God give it to Moses in the first place?
That answer is pretty easy. Paul outlines it in the next verses:

15Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.

21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

In a nutshell: the law makes us aware of our sin and need for salvation, our utter inability to do it ourselves.

Abraham's covenant is better than Moses' law and Abraham was saved 430 years before God gave Moses the commandments (and isn't it just another sign of Paul's superiority that he has that fact at his fingertips?). In God's covenant with Abraham, God said "I Will" but the commandments said "Thou Shalt"...dooming them to failure! The responsibility for the covenant was on God who does not fail. Only 1 part was required to do anything for success and that party was God. Unlike the commandments which was more of a 2 party agreement...that totally depended on you and me for success. And here's the truth about that: man can't succeed and God can't fail.

So then why did the tablets come down?
They lead us to Christ. They show us our sinfulness, our inability to please God through our own works, our need for mercy and grace. Grace means nothing unless you know you gotta have it. Thanks to the "Thou shalts" we know we must have grace.

Are people inherently good? Are there any laws that you routinely break? Can anyone keep the perfect law of God?

Galatians-Week 3-Let's all sing it...

For some reason, this song is coming to mind as I work on the Bible study. Now you can sing it with me!

The next part of Chapter 3 says this:
6Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
7Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Why do you think Abraham comes up here? Don't you think part of the Judaizer's argument revolved around the covenant God made with Abraham? Here's what it says in Genesis 15:2-6:
2Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one (A)born in my house is my heir." Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them " And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Paul's point: salvation is personal. It doesn't come through rituals or observances. The circumcision that marks people under God's covenant with Abraham had nothing to do with salvation. Abraham's belief had everything to do with his salvation, or his being made "righteous" just as it does ours. And it was credited to him...before he was circumcised.

The next part of the letter: verses 10-14

10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

15...Isn't "good" good enough?
Paul clearly answers that here. Only perfection is good enough. There are no exceptions. The law is a curse that no one can live with and Jesus took that curse for us when he hung on a tree. Without him, the perfect sacrifice, there is no good enough. And even more clearly, he is the fulfillment of that covenant.

Galatians-Week 3-It's grace, people, get the message

Ok, so we've laid just a very little background for Chapter 3. In this chapter, Paul is going to annihilate the idea that the law could ever surpass or supplant or in any way challenge the grace offered through Jesus Christ.


14. How do you know you're saved in the first place? Answer: Hello, Holy Spirit, come on in.

1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Here Paul says "Don't you remember how you even came into the family in the first place? It wasn't through anything you did, but through something that Jesus did and because you believed. You experienced it for yourself and you saw the effect of this change in the lives of the people around you. Why would you think you can change it now? Oh, and you know that feeling of difference that you have...let's just call that the 'Holy Spirit.' That's proof of God's favor, proof of salvation, and your guarantee that no matter what happens here, your future is secure. Forever."

I could be paraphrasing, but really, he has an excellent point. The Holy Spirit, which is God, comes to the believer at salvation. And never leaves.

1 John 4:13: We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13-14: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Here's how someone smarter than I am said it:

No ritual, ceremony, regulation or any other thing devised or accomplished by men can pick up where the cross leaves off--because the cross never leaves off. The cross is the continuing and eternal payment for all sin, and every sinner who puts his trust in the cross is forever and continually being forgiven. A believer can no more stay saved by works than he could have been saved by works in the first place. The cross keeps moving powerfully and relentlessly through history, and it will stand forever as living proof that men cannot redeem themselves.

Galatians-Week 3-What is faith?

Chapter 3 of Galatians is a doozy, lots of questions are answered here. Big questions that can cause some confusion and stumbling among Christians, new and old alike. If you're in the class, make sure that you jump in and answer this first question if you're reading it beforehand. I'll be so impressed.

12. Were the people misled by the Judaizers in danger of losing their salvation because they were adding all these requirements to salvation?
Short answer: uh, no. They weren't in danger of losing their salvation. But they were still in big danger. They were in danger of losing all of the joy and hope that is supposed to be a part of the Christian life. And the bigger danger: the harm to their witness to the world. The world knows us because we're different. We have a hope and a future which should mark us as different. Struggling under the law, these Christians were no different than the lost to the world's eyes.

Here's another way Paul addresses the simplicity of salvation:
Romans 3:22

22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

There is no difference...all have sinned and all are justified freely.

13. What is faith?
I think this is a tough question, one I really struggle with sometimes. Do I have (enough) faith? I want to measure up. But it's so much simpler than that. I already do. It's more of an "either or" decision, not a measuring stick.

Here's what Hebrews 11 has to say about faith:
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Isn't it interesting to see what the writer of Hebrews (probably not Paul) says about these heroes of the Old Testament? These are heroes of faith. And they had faith in God and his promises...and their salvation is complete only in Jesus Christ.

Is it really black and white?

Do you remember seeing this test image before? I think what you see is supposed to reveal something about you or your brain or something. Since I seem to know so very much about it, what's it doing here?

I was thinking yesterday during all the time I spent it my car hurrying to meet this appointment and then that one and then this other thing...about Paul and how much I admire his personality. We talked about this for just a minute in our Bible study, but Paul was a sharp guy. He knew his stuff. He had convincing arguments for the Judaizers so he knew the law and the requirements but he was also smart enough to let them go. He could see easily how Jesus replaced the law.

And then we read about how he confronted Peter. What a man of conviction to go up against no other than Peter, leader of the early church, and the Jews in the church at Antioch who were being hypocrites. And in public, no less. There's a reason I admire that: I am in no way prepared for confrontation in public. Peter would have wiped the floor with me. Maybe. Probably. I would have thought of snappy comebacks. Three days later.

So how lucky we are to have both men, both Peter, who is so human to make mistakes and still lead and be used by God, and Paul, who knows his stuff so well that he can correct even men like Peter.

Paul didn't live in the gray area that I live in. I understand from his letter that he very much lived in a black and white world. You're either right or you're wrong. There is no in between.

Those people are hard to find. And usually, I don't want to spend time with time. Because gray is more comfortable. Tolerance is more comfortable. Going along to get along is more comfortable. "Situational ethics" is more comfortable. And still, even for all the comfort, these are terrible choices when it comes down to the important decisions in life. So I probably need to do a little more black and white and a little less gray.

Revelation song

I heard this again on Sunday. What a praise song.

A good memory...a good thing?

Isaiah 55:10-11
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

I don't know whether you have the same affliction that I do...perfect recall exactly when you don't want it. I can easily remember dumb things I've said and really smart things I meant to say...a minute, an hour, a day too late to say them. I've been "critically evaluating" my words lately, particularly the things I should have said to make a difference.

And when I do that, I begin to worry about where I'm messing up today. As I did my Beth Moore study, I was reminded of what God says in Isaiah: God's words aren't going to return empty. They will accomplish his purpose. So...onward we go, learning His word, hearing His word, and. most importantly, speaking His word so that it may accomplish His purpose.

Galatians-Week 2-Does this make sense?

In the last part of Galatians 2, Paul really answers the problem of saying one thing and then requiring the Gentiles to do another. He has no patience for the lack of logic in the Judaizers' argument.

15"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

17"If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

11. How does it make sense to expect them to do what we couldn't?
It just doesn't make any sense for privileged Jews who have believed that Christ died to save them and rejected the law as the way to salvation to now burden the Gentiles with the keeping of that law. The law doesn't work. The problem isn't what man does but who he is.

John 3:16-18 says this:

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

And not once is there a line drawn that says there are different requirements. Whoever believes shall have eternal life. Simple. To the point. Hard to miss. And, uh, fairly well known today. And really, if the Judaizers were right, then Jesus was wrong. And that's a problem. A big one. Legalism cancels out the cross. If the Judaizers were right, Christ died for no reason.

Here are the 2 pillars of Paul's gospel: the grace of God, and the death of Christ. Both are destroyed by legalism.

So then, why do we even have this law from Moses?
Check out Chapter 3.

Galatians-Week 2-Ever met a hypocrite?

The real question is more like "Ever been a hypocrite?" In the next part of Chapter 2, Paul recounts an episode where he had to confront Peter and even his right-hand man Barnabas over behavior which was damaging his message.

11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

I've mentioned more than once how much I like Peter. The reason I like him: he messes up. If there's anyone who should know better than to say one thing and do another, it's Peter. Anybody remember the story of Peter, his vision, and his visit to the centurion Cornelius? I posted about it not too long ago. In order to really get the message through to Peter that the law had no impact on salvation and that this gospel applied to all men, God had to send a vision, an interpreter, and a divine appointment complete with wonders performed through the Holy Spirit as Cornelius and his family were saved...to Peter. He confirmed it at the Jerusalem council. But in Antioch, it was time to put it in action. And he was happy to do so, eating with the Gentiles what they ate...until some men claiming to be from the Jerusalem church showed up and put the law about clean and unclean back in place through peer pressure. Peter withdrew from the Gentiles...and took more Jews with him, harming the witness to the church.

And Paul didn't stand for it. He confronted Peter publicly and directly to correct the problem.

10. Thanks, Peter. Thanks, Paul. What do we learn from this? (Not strictly a question, but my brain is tired.) Let's make it multiple choice...
A. Even strong, talented, gifted, inspired leaders can make serious mistakes.
B. Right words without right action = hypocrisy
C. Truth is more important than outward appearance of harmony.
D. "Situation ethics" or changing the rules depending on the crowd is ungodly.
E. Sometimes you just have to confront falsehood.
F. All of the above. (You knew that was coming, right?)

Paul had no trouble confronting Peter to restore the truth. Society's current emphasis on tolerance makes that rare today. Think that's dangerous?

Galatians-Week 2-"Christian" Laws?

How easily do you fall for "human thinking" instead of "God thinking?" It's easy to slip back into the way man thinks instead of holding on to the way that God thinks even after you become a Christian. It's so easy to do. And that's how the Judaizers worked, appealing to that human thinking. Paul knew this would happen. In Acts 20: 28-30, he warns the Ephesians:

28Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.[a] Be shepherds of the church of God,[b] which he bought with his own blood. 29I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.

In Chapter 2, Paul continues to defend his right to preach this gospel. First by using the endorsement of the church in Jerusalem, led by the men the Judaizers believed to be the true apostles.

9. Is this gospel of salvation by grace through faith...even for Gentiles...something that Paul thought up on his own?
For this answer, let's look at Acts 15. I like to go back to Acts because this is Luke's account of the early church history, a secondary source for Paul's on first-hand account.

1Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. 4When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
5Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

6The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

12The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers
22Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers.

So this message had been debated by the main church in Jerusalem already in response to some trouble at Antioch. And just what do we know about the church at Antioch? (Well, I didn't know that much, but maybe you do.) Antioch was the first church to Gentiles, pastored by Paul and Barnabas, and it was the first place follwers of Christ were called Christians...just a little trivia.

On this trip to Jerusalem, Paul met privately with the apostles there to tell them his gospel. Along the way, Paul shared the gospel and saw many people converted along with signs and wonders that were a confirmation of his gospel's endorsement by the Holy Spirit. The apostles confirmed his message and added nothing to it. And just to be extra sure, Paul took along Titus, a Gentile. And no one required his circumcision for salvation. And while he was there, he was commissioned to reach the Gentiles.

What kind of laws do we hold up for meeting God's approval in today's church?

Here's Paul's version of events from Galatians 2

1Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. 3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.
6As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. 7On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles,[a] just as Peter had been to the Jews.[b] 8For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9James, Peter[c] and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Galatians-Week 1-The Truth

Here's the rest of the first chapter:

Galatians 1:11-24 Paul Called by God
11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from birth[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they praised God because of me.

8. So which is right...Paul's gospel or the Judaizers? What do the other apostles say?
Again, we don't have a letter written by the chief Judaizer, but it appears that one of the arguments that Paul had to answer was that he wasn't a "real" apostle and that he made up his own gospel. And, of course, he would make it easier than it really is because he wants people to like him.

From what we know of Paul, do you think he ever really spent a lot of time wondering if people liked him? I really don't think so. People feared him. Feared his reputation. Immediately upon his conversion when he began preaching, people wanted to kill him. He had to be rescued by being lowered over the city wall in a basket.

Here Paul is establishing that his gospel came directly from God, not men. He didn't train with the apostles but immediately set out to learn and preach. And people were saved. The gospel the Judaizers held to: based on the early books but even more so on interpretations made by the teachers of the day. The Jews lived by many rules, determined by interpretation of chruch leaders. Paul's gospel clearly wasn't man-made: there were no lists of rules, and man had very little importance in his own salvation...and idea clearly contrary to what the Judaizers believed.

And later on Paul's going to say...oh, yeah, and that message that the apostles in Jerusalem have and the one that I've been preaching without them...it's the same one...because it comes from the same place: Jesus Christ.

And just to finish up Chapter 1, we can take a look at 2 verses that the Judaizers didn't have. Another reason to celebrate the printing press, right?

Here's what Luke wrote in Acts 26:15-18 about Paul's conversion and Jesus' purpose for Paul:

15"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'

" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

And later on, we have Peter's confirmation of Paul in 2 Peter 3:15-16 (from the Message translation)

14-16So, my dear friends, since this is what you have to look forward to, do your very best to be found living at your best, in purity and peace. Interpret our Master's patient restraint for what it is: salvation. Our good brother Paul, who was given much wisdom in these matters, refers to this in all his letters, and has written you essentially the same thing. Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand. Irresponsible people who don't know what they are talking about twist them every which way. They do it to the rest of the Scriptures, too, destroying themselves as they do it.

Galatians-Week 1-A New Gospel?

Here's the next part of the letter, Galatians 1:6-10:

6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul's letters usually start out with a peaceful greeting, an encouraging word to struggling groups of Christians, but, to me, it seems he's just a little put out with the Galatians...the churches that he'd established and invested the time to teach the gospel as it had been directly revealed to him...these believers were being misled...they were deserting. Different translations will have different words but Paul was amazed or astonished that they were deserting, willfully leaving the gospel.

7. So what's this "new gospel" we've been hearing about?
Unfortunately, we don't have a letter from the Judaizers outlining their dogma, but it's easy to see that it's contrary to Paul's message of salvation by grace through faith. The Judaizers agreed that Christ was the Messiah, but they wanted to make salvation for the Gentiles contingent on a type of conversion to Judaism or, really, to make Gentiles subject to the rules of Judaism (specifically, circumcision) before they could be saved.

It's easy to see why the Galatians would have been, at the very least, confused by the Judaizers. I also sometimes wonder about how easily I am saved. Simple faith is all it takes, but it seems like there should be so much more. And the Judaizers have a simple solution to that: yes, you can say that Christ is who He said He was, but then why don't you also try to live under the law perfectly like we've tried and failed to do for centuries? (I don't know if they really said that. I may be paraphrasing.)

Do you see why Paul reacted to strongly? A righteous Pharisee who knew the law and did his best to live it, converted and taught personally by Jesus Christ himself, committed to spreading His gospel...to be confronted again by the law, creeping its way back into the early church to confuse the new believers in Galatia.

What was Paul's gospel before conversion? What is his purpose after conversion?
What kinds of substitute gospels to people preach today that tempt people to depend on something besides Christ for security and salvation?

The MacArthur NT Commentary says this:

Satan's primary target for false teaching is the doctrine of salvation, because if people are confused about that they have no way of coming to God in the first place and thus remain under Satan's influence and control. He teaches lies about church organization, Christian living, the Lord's return, and many other things. But his first concern is to undermine the heart of the gospel, which is salvation by grace, made possible through the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We can talk about whether Paul was changing the gospel to make people like him tomorrow...but I'm thinking "No" is the answer.

Galatians-Week 1-Apostolic Authority

Those are big words...apostolic authority...what do they mean? It's easier to ask

5. Just who does Paul think he is? What gives him the right to tell off the Judaizers and assert so firmly his version of the gospel?

First, let's take a look at what Paul says, how he begins his letter: Galatians 1:1-5

1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:

3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Who is Paul? He's an apostle...
apostle--one who is sent with a commission, an envoy or messenger who was chosen and trained by Jesus Christ as His special emissary for proclaiming His truth during the formative years of the church. (Note: anytime you see something that sounds really smart like this, I didn't come up with it. Probably it's from the MacArthur NT Commentary.)

An apostle had to have seen the resurrected Christ. That sorta limits the pool. Here's what Acts 1:22-26 says about replacing an apostle (who had to be replaced because...well, he had his priorities out of line.)

21Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

23So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." 26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

6. How in the world could Paul be an apostle? The original 12, sure. They came from the disciples and the others who traveled with Christ. Remember Saul/Paul's conversion story? There on the road to Damascus? Jesus spoke to him there. And then Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8:

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

So basically, Paul says here that his gospel and that of all the apostles comes directly from God, not from men. They were all taught by Jesus. Oh, yeah, and that his gospel contains grace and peace, grace for salvation which leads to peace for living.

Galatians-Week 1-The problem

Keeping up with the Q&A format (until I can't do it easily and then I'll drop it like one hot potato)...
3. What's the deal? Why did Paul write the letter?
Most of the time, Paul wrote letters to address questions or problems in the churches. The Galatian churches had been invaded by Judaizers, Jews who made a profession of Christianity but wanted to add a legal requirement to salvation. They added circumcision and other requirements under Mosaic law. They rejected Paul's message: salvation comes through grace by faith in Jesus Christ. Alone. There is no other requirement, even for Gentiles like the Galatians.

And they attacked Paul personally to cast doubt on his authority and further challenge his message.

4. What's Paul's message? Ephesians 2:8-9 says it pretty clearly. Here's Paul's version of the gospel, in a nutshell:

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.

Do you ever question how easily we come to God? Shouldn't salvation be more difficult? Maybe more like Survivor with challenges to over come or some other reality show where you are judged critically and eliminated, leaving only the best standing? Definitely there should be a long list of rules to follow. Right?

Paul's going to answer that question for the Galatians, the Judaizers, and for us. It's simple because it has to be. There's no other way. We've had a chance to try it by performing rituals and ceremonies and following the rules and we couldn't do it. But Jesus could. And did. Now we have to understand what that means.

Galatians-Week 1-The history

I decided to post a little of what we talk about in our weekly Bible study here. Maybe it will help me remember as we go along what we've talked about. I'm an optimist.

Here are a couple of questions that I had to answer for myself first:
1. Where or what is a Galatia? (I like to start with the basics, you know.)
Galatia is a region in Turkey, settled by Celtic tribes who migrated due to conflict with the Romans at home. The Galatian churches, recipients of the letter, were established during a missionary trip by Paul.

2. And so then...who is Paul?
Paul was the author of this letter and many others which make up books in the New Testament. And he was a very big deal, a Pharisee, committed to destroying the early Christian church. Here's what he has to say about himself:

Phillipians 3:5-6
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

And this is part of that question...how did Paul make it from "Hebrew of Hebrews" to the author of critical Christian doctrine? Here's the story of his conversion, along the road to Damascus:

Acts 9-Saul's Conversion
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
5"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6"Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!"
"Yes, Lord," he answered.

11The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

13"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

15But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

The past

Faith looks back upon the past, for her battles have strengthened her and her victories have given her courage. She remembers that God never has failed her.

This is a quote that a friend sent me yesterday. Remembering that God never has failed her...this is an excellent thing to remember.


Happy Friday.

Unplugged

I've been telling my friends that I'm getting ready to do an "unplugged" Bible study at work. And it is...normally I have lots of help in the form of an expert, someone who gets paid to write and/or video enlightening studies that I then buy at my neighborhood LifeWay store. It's a system. It works. It works for lots and lots of people.

This time, I just wanted to go to the Bible. So we're going to study Galatians. Unplugged. Everyone will read the same chapter and we'll talk. Since I'm no scholar, I've been scrambling ever since I decided to try this. I have 2 commentaries and a study Bible in addition to a small workbook. And I read and I compare and I think and I decide and I write.

And I believe I am more plugged in than ever. For the first time in a long time, learning is exciting and I anticipate God's work with excitement. I added another Bible study this week, a Beth Moore study that I hope turns out to be as fabulous as she promised. And I'm still reading Self Talk Soul Talk about Psalms to replace the negative things I say to myself.

All in all, I'm experiencing God right now. And the more I have, the more I want. Until this morning...when I face the day with dread...dread because something bad might happen in my brand new study like I'll say something stupid or people will fight or because work is still work and the pressure never seems to let up and I just want a little rest or because I'm me and Satan knows my weakness, the places to hit me to rob me of the joy that comes from finding some of my purpose.

So...from one study I say:

I lift my eyes up to the mountains, where does my help come from?
It comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

From the next I say:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the world.

And from the book I have learned to say:

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

You would really think that would be enough, right? Maybe. I'll get there.

Growth

Acts 10: Cornelius' House
27Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?"

30Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.' 33So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."

34Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

39"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in tongues[b] and praising God.

Did you notice that Cornelius, even though he feared God, prayed to Him, and did good things, wasn't saved until Peter visited? Peter shared the message of Jesus Christ and the Gentiles were saved in a bright, amazing, undeniable way. The angel didn't do it, Cornelius didn't do it, Peter did it with a little help. And the message: everyone who believed in Him received forgiveness of his sins through his name. Everyone.

Peter is still Peter. I think even with the vision, God had to show Peter that even a centurion and his family can be saved. Every person, regardless of race or status or birth, can be saved. God doesn't show favoritism. Everyone of us Gentiles should say "Thank you, Cornelius. Thank you, God" because God showed in a clear, amazing way that this message was for the world, not just the people of Israel. The God of Abraham and Isaac became the God of Cheryl, thanks to Jesus. And thanks to God, that message is crystal clear to Peter and the apostles.

Good job, Cornelius.

Peter's dream

Acts 10
9About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."
14"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."

15The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

16This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

17While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. 18They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

19While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. 20So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."

21Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?"

22The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." 23Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

Contrast Peter's vision to Cornelius' dream...an angel tells Cornelius to send for Peter, and he does it. Immediately. What does Peter do? Peter sees the vision, hears the voice...and says No. Peter had baggage that Cornelius didn't, a lifetime of rules about what he could eat and what he couldn't, an understanding of Israel as God's chosen people. What does God do? He says yes. 3 times he says yes. I think 3 is Peter's magic number because that's what it took...well, that and the spirit and the "coincidental" arrival of Cornelius' men.

God is awesome, right? And merciful. Peter's vision was just the beginning. He was going to be doing some growing along with Cornelius. Peter had to spread the gospel to the Jews...and someone else was going to reach the rest of us. And Peter's face to face with Cornelius and his family...just the beginning.

The centurion Cornelius

I'm going to be leading another Bible study beginning Thursday this week. And for some crazy reason, I decided to try something I've never done before. I'm not using a study guide...well, other than the Bible. And that's the ultimate study guide, right?

Luckily, my Sunday school lesson is helping me out a little. We're studying Acts, which is kinda the history that Paul is talking about in Galatians...the book I picked to teach. In order not to lose any of my fascinating plans for the Bible study, I'm doing my best to stay away from Paul. He's a big deal for Galatians, being the writer and all.

Our lesson this week was on...Peter, my favorite, specifically Cornelius and Peter. In Acts, we see Peter growing...and in Galatians, Paul showed that Peter had a whole lot more to do.

Here's where Cornelius comes in:

Acts 10
Cornelius Calls for Peter
1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!"
4Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked.

The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea."

7When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

What do we know about Cornelius?
1. He was important, a leader, a Roman
2. He was devout, feared God, prayed to Him. Cornelius was a good person.
3. Cornelius couldn't save himself. And neither could the angel. God had a plan for Peter.
4. Cornelius was obedient. Immediately.

For some reason, this time, the more we study Acts, the more I understand what amazing things the early church accomplished. I've heard this before, but now it's real. I think it comes from studying Galatians at the same time. I understand Paul better and I see the church at work. Jesus brought the message, but these men did the work. And Satan helped. By persecuting these men and scattering them, Satan caused the spread of Christianity beyond Jerusalem, beyond Judea.

A difference

Act as if what you do makes a difference.
It does.
William James

Gracious

Luke 4:22
And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips

This weekend I started reading Self Talk, Soul Talk by Jennifer Rothschild. I was suspicious at first. I was afraid it was a self-help book masquerading as biblical truth. Self-help books don't seem to be a good use of paper most of the time.

This one is good so far. Rothschild says at one point that she sure she wouldn't stand for someone else talking to her the same way she talks to herself. And I'd say on the other side that I would never in a million words say some of the things that I think about myself to anyone. Ever. I don't really even think those things about other people. Most of the time.

How does that happen? Why do I have a different standard for myself?

Graciousness and power, that was what people heard when Jesus spoke. Truth with compassion and kindness and you know he was tested...Peter alone was probably enough to test Jesus' graciousness.

The idea of Self Talk Soul Talk is that this internal monologue is natural and most of us have things that we say to ourselves that we shouldn't. And while we can't eliminate those, with God's help, we can replace them with better things, things to build up instead of tear down, things to draw us closer to God.

Transparency

Proverbs 23:7 (New American Standard Bible)
7For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

Do you ever wonder how the world sees you? I'm a thinker. I'm happy to listen to conversations flow around me and think, to observe the people around me and think. I don't have to be the center of attention. In fact, I'd prefer not to be. I think this quietness or reserve gives the people around me an idea of who I am that may just be a little off.

I know people who think my halo is untarnished...I never think a bad thing, say a bad thing, do things I shouldn't because I'm a Christian, a good person, a good girl. Unfortunately, that just isn't true. I worry about those people a little. As soon as I stumble with them, I become just another hypocrite. You know, the reason people can't go to church...all the hypocrites. You've heard that, right?

So I try my best not to represent myself as flawless...but that's such a battle because perfection is really all that's acceptable. For me, anyway. I want to fake it, to pretend perfection. Clearly, my thoughts are different than my actions. And together, my brain and my mouth are dangerous.

Of course, there are some things that are easier to admit to...and I'm willing to be transparent there. There are some things that only God knows, even with an untarnished halo. And there's so much more work to do with whole "renewing of my mind" business.